First-year women's rowing coach Mike Lane was looking to rock the proverbial boat in his team's opening race of the spring. The bigger surprise was that the Schuylkill River did more of the rocking than was planned. At Saturday's Connell Cup, an event that hosted Yale and Columbia, the current, which registered at 15,000 cubic feet per second, swept tree limbs, plants, mud and other types of debris into the water.

MADISON, N.J., March 25 - Competing shorthanded against anyone is difficult, but with the way the NCAA Fencing Championships are set up, it can spell disaster for a team's chance at a title. The Quakers faced just this predicament during the past four days in Madison, N.

Defense may win championships, but offense can win games. The Penn women's lacrosse team proved that on Saturday, defeating Cornell 14-9 in a high-scoring affair on Franklin Field. Unlike their previous two wins when they gave up a combined nine goals, the No.

For the fourth time in five opportunities this season, the Quakers' top reliever blew a save.

MADISON, N.J., March 25 - Penn fencing coach Dave Micahnik described it as "a Berkowsky performance." What was he referring to? It was junior Ron Berkowsky's silver medal finish in foil at the NCAA Championships. "When he does well, it doesn't surprise me," Micahnik said.

You would think that the military would make a tough opponent in an athletic event. But after two straight dominant victories, Penn could get used to facing our nation's military academies, at least on the tennis court. The men's tennis team defeated Army yesterday 7-0 , following its shutout victory over Navy Wednesday.

The Crimson aren't the best lacrosse team in the Ivy League, but they look like it against Penn. In a back-and-forth game, Harvard scored the final three goals, including one only a minute into overtime, for the 7-6 win over Penn. It is the third time in three years the Quakers have lost to Harvard.

For a team that won the Ivy League title, it was only appropriate to close on a high note. In its final home meet of the season, the Penn gymnastics team finished its season by beating Cornell, 190.675 to 188.40. After two solid rotations on vault and bars, the Quakers were competing true to form with freshman Marissa Rosen nailing down a 9.

The Quakers kneeled on the top step of the third-base dugout. Freshman righthander Todd Roth was on the mound, and the scoreboard behind him revealed the list of zeros for Columbia: no runs, and more importantly, no hits. Roth pushed the count full with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and he was one strike away from a no-hitter.

Three top-10 finishes highlight tourney win Both Penn golf teams were in action this past weekend. The men's squad competed in the George Washington Invitational and the women competed at the William and Mary Invitational in Williamsburg. The men's team won its tournament, beating out 24 teams.

Bring on the Tigers. That was the overwhelming sentiment as the Quakers returned from their weekend trip to Virginia and now prepare to kick off their Ivy schedule against Princeton. The trip, which began with a 7-0 Penn defeat at the hands of William and Mary, ended on a high note as the Red and Blue cruised to a 5-2 victory over Old Dominion.

Penn coach Karin Brower and the women's lacrosse team have employed a simple formula: play at home and win. So when Cornell comes to town on Saturday, the red-hot Quakers - who have yet to lose in Philadelphia this season - will try to take full advantage of Franklin Field's comforts while they still can.

After losing a close game to Lafeyette 6-5 in the first half of its doubleheader, the Penn softball team had the last word, rallying to take the second game 5-0. Penn's first game was plagued by defensive miscues. The Quakers (8-6) committed a total of four errors that cost them five unearned runs.

Penn could certainly use a quick pick-me-up after Wednesday's disappointing extra-inning 2-1 loss to Lafayette: Columbia.

Day one of the NCAA Fencing Championships wasn't a banner event for Penn men's fencing. But if the lows were low, the highs were definitely high. Ron Berkowsky headlined the afternoon, going 12-2 in foil for a second-place finish in the event. The only foilist to have a better outing was Columbia's Kurt Getz, who finished at 13-1.

David Cornbrooks wants his ring back. It's the one he should have had last year. A little less than a month into its season, the Penn lacrosse team is off to a fast start, with an early leg up in the Ivy League standings and a weak Harvard team looming just ahead.

The Penn softball team is ready to resume play after being idle for over a week - and, as a surprising treat, will do so in its own backyard. Following a weekend full of snow, sleet and several cancelled games, including one against St. Joseph's, the players will get to stretch their legs today against Lafayette (5-5), a team whose number they've regularly had in the past.